Stirile despre Romania din presa straina abunda, cand ochiul antrenat le cauta. Sa discutam povestea unui roman ajuns in Canada intr-un container din Italia.

E o “poveste frumoasa” ne spune Jennifer O’Brien in articolul sau cat si in videoclipul ce-l acompaniaza. Si chiar daca nu nimereste spelling-ul masinii conduse de Vasile (e Porsche Cayenne, nu Cayanne), povestea este captivanta.

Chiar aveam nevoie de o poveste pozitiva cu romani, cu atat mai mult cu cat numai stiri neplacute aflam despre Romania:

• Roger Moore (83 de ani) s-a impiedicat si-a cazut in Ro in timpul unei filmari pentru comedia “Christmas at Castlebury Hall” si 3 electricieni au picat peste el, facandu-l piftie.
• Aflam si despre un sat catolic, Sangeorgiu de Mures, ca percepe o taxa de divort de 10,000 lei (€2,380, $3,370), care-i de 2000 de ori mai mare ca in Bucuresti si 60% din salariul mediu pe un an.
• Johnson & Johnson a dat (printre altele) spaga doctorilor din Grecia, Polonia si Romania pentru a-i incuraja sa-i foloseasca produsele si va da o spaga legala de $75m (£45.9m) pentru a scapa de investigatii
• Dupa ce s-au cacait un veac, procurorii l-au pus sub acuzatie pe Vadim pentru tulburarea linistii publice, iar Parlamentul da foc verde ecarisajului
• Un roman din Spania si-a sugrumat sotia si-a aratat-o apoi tatalui cu un webcam
• Tot mai multi romani se sinucid in penitenciarele italiene (15 de la inceputul anului); altul, de 51 de ani, s-a sinucis in aruncandu-se de pe Monumentul Vittoriano, in timpul celebrarii a 150 de ani de la unificare Italiei, la cativa pasi de Columna lui Traian
• Fost majordom incearca sa santejeze o milionara americana
• Prostituatele romance au spart piata din Stuttgart cu “all you can fuck buffet” si-acum pestii sunt anchetati
• Roman in Dublin prefera somajul unui salariu de 28000 de euro
• Rifca Stefanescu din Romania a ajuns cea mai tanara bunica din lume la 23 de ani
• un roman a torturat-o pe Annie, un elefant de circ: These majestic creatures are currently performing in Pitesti, a backwater town in Romania, the most backward country in the European Union.
• ne paste stagflatia, zice Financial Times

Intreaga poveste incepe cu o calatorie intr-un container, in genul celei cu Maersk Dubai, amintita in excluderea indezirabililor. Articolul CBC care anunta sosirea lui Vasile in Halifax ne spune ca vreo 30 de clandestini ajung anual in Canada in acest mod. Nu este clar cati sunt aruncati peste bord de detinatorii vasului, care vor sa evite amenzile de cateva mii de euro pentru fiecare “stowaway”. La plecare, taxele incasate de traficantii de oameni sunt cam $700 / persoana.

"I'm sorry," he says again, returning to his seat, this time plopping his iPhone on the table. "You'll have to excuse me. I speak seven languages, but English is my worst . . . "

Povestea e lunga si-ncepe chiar cu inceputul:

At 14, Caniuca left the village of Repedea for the first time and went off to high school. To pay for it, he took the two-day trip to Istanbul, in Turkey, and got a summer job working 14-hour days, $40 a day, at a shoe factory. That was twice the wage he could have made in Romania, he says.

Eu cel putin aflu pentru prima data cum se calatoreste intr-un container:

"We would pee into bottles," Caniuca says, taking the lid off a salt container to show the aim required. "You had to be very disciplined, because if you splashed . . . " Those who could, defecated into plastic bags. "One man didn't go for 10 days." Despite efforts to keep bottles capped and bags sealed, the smell was sickening back at the port in Livorno. The men were careful with their food portions, eating only in pairs. "You can't eat all together, because some will eat more and some will eat less and it can cause problems."

Iata si la ce te poti astepta cand ajungi la destinatie (plus ca aflam ca sunt mult mai putini clandestini zilele astea):

Halifax, one of Canada's oldest seaports, is accustomed to stowaways. Last year, nine landed. Eight in 2009. Shortly after the discovery, the crane operator continued lifting the container into the air - slowly this time - and kept it there for what seemed like hours while port authorities waited for police, health workers and immigration officials to arrive. "We looked out of the holes, we saw helicopters. It was CNN," says Caniuca. (..) After about a week, Caniuca took a job painting houses for $5 an hour.

In timp, lucrurile se aseaza:

In Kitchener, he painted for a man named Constantine for about a year and a half before opening his own company. He named it Pentaia, after the river he used to fish back home. Between houses there were refugee hearings - he got in, based on the discrimination he'd face back in Romania due to his Ukrainian heritage and strong Christian faith. (..) The first year, he made $40,000. But by the third year, he'd hired three guys and made $200,000.

Si bunica-mea e ucraineanca. El a gasit si timp sa se-nsoare:

It's been a whirlwind. He was still supervising jobs when he met his wife, Helen, at the Slavic Pentecostal church in London, and when he asked her to marry him at Springbank Park ("My English was so bad then, I said, 'could you marry me?' instead of 'would you marry me?'") and when he built their first home. It was a $400,000 beauty. There was a fountain in the living room.

Isi ajuta parintii si familia din Romania:

"It was beautiful and it had been my dream to have my own house when I got married. But when it was finished, I walked into he kitchen and tears came to my eyes," he says. "I couldn't believe I had all this and my parents were still poor in Romania." (..) He's not rich, he insists: He has mortgages, credit lines, debts like anyone else, but he can help his family. "I do what I can," he says, adding he's been back to his village four times since coming to Canada. "I help them with dental, my sisters' school fees. I bought them a minivan, I built them a house and a barn.

"Now, they live Canadian-style standards almost, so I'm very happy."

Se sfarseste bine, cum se cade:

In 2009, Caniuca made London development history when Millstone Homes built a $2.1-million condominium on speculation. Caniuca had no buyer for the Broughdale Gates home, but was confident the luxury spread with an $80,000 double staircase would sell. It's one of 30 $400,000+ homes recently built by Millstone. (..) Caniuca also owns CVH Roofing, employing about 15 seasonal workers and four staff in Sarnia, London and Kitchener. They do about 150 roofs a year, not including charity projects such as for Habitat for Humanity.

Povestea lui nu-i unica:

He and Ursu are talking about other stories they've heard. There's a Romanian man now living in Kitchener with 11 kids, they say, who got into a container in Italy but ended up in Madagascar.

"Now that's a story," says Ursu, chuckling. "This is nothing compared to that one."

Videoclipul lui Jennifer nu-i pe iutub, dar am gasit in schimb o gramada de clipuri de muzica “populara” cu numele Vasile (NSFW).